2-channel video, color, sound, on unique unistrut mount
105 Minutes
dawn_chorusii as installed in no existe un mundo poshuracán, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
Photograph by Ron Amstutz
dawn_chorus ii: el niágara en bicicleta is a work produced in my native Puerto Rico which was largely shaped by the financial crisis, the islands’ various histories under colonial rule and the climate-change related natural disasters which have affected the island of late. The most recent of which, hurricane Maria, and the subsequent collapse of the state due to US interference and corruption, gave the project its ending. Prior to the hurricane, this work was engaged in conversation with Blackness and anti-blackness in the Caribbean, syncretic religion, familial ties as affected by the violence of colonial structures, Taíno - Arawak culture in the present/past/future, and USAmerican occupation as enforced via the military and tourism complexes. Fantastical and science-fictional strategies in combination with documentary tactics enable the work and narratives to be both conversant with and propose a space outside of the current arc of history.
Special thanks to: Noemí Segarra Ramírez (dancer solo); Courtney Mackedanz, Lovie Olivia, Hannah Patterson, Preetika Rajgariah, Keijaun Thomas, Cristina Victor, Kim Ye, Yǔ Jīn (dancers); Alex Narinskiy (second shooter, dance sequence); Matthew Gonzalez Kirkland (sound and video editing assistant); Raquel Salas Rivera (translator)
And to my family, for their participation, for sharing their stories: Alma Rosado Córdova, Rafael Córdova (actors); Milagros (Millie) Córdova, Migdalia (Miggie) Rosado Torres, José Torres, Miguel Rosado, Yezennia Rosado, Veronica Rosado, Maria (Maggie) Rosado Munet (interviews)